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pastas. But don’t underestimate the traditional pasta asciutta (pastaciutta for short), literally “dried pasta,” which offers a toothy texture and al dente bite that provides an appealing contrast to the softer and more delicate texture of the fresh-made stuff. Here, then, is Food & Dining’s Field Guide to Pasta, a convenient survey of pasta in its major shapes and sizes, with a few comments to help you sort out the international variety of pasta that awaits your attention.
Long Pasta Long and round Say “pasta,” and most of us will think first of spaghetti. It’s the classic with tomato sauce, marinara or meat sauce— with or without the meatballs. Spaghetti and similar long, thin strands are customarily served with lighter sauces based on tomatoes or olive oil. Spaghetti comes in a variety of sizes, from the delicately fine capellini (“angel hair”), pasta so thin that it needs only a moment or two to cook, to vermicelli (“little worms”), to thin spaghettini, to regular and thick spaghetti. Set aside a subcategory for linguine, a spaghetti-like strand squashed into a flattened oval shape—the perfect vehicle
John and Vicki Hale, also known as Louisville’s Mr. and Mrs. Pasta, claim no Italian ancestry. Indeed, John says he originally planned a wine shop. But they saw a market for fresh pasta and opened Lotsa Pasta in a tiny storefront on Bardstown Road in 1982. They moved to St. Matthews a decade later, and the shop has become a virtual mecca for all things pasta, plus deli meats and cheeses, an eclectic international selection of condiments and packaged specialty foods from around the world … and first-rate sandwiches to go. Lotsa Pasta carries more than 200 varieties of dried pasta, and produces about 40 different kinds of ravioli, tortellini and fresh long pastas in the backroom of the shop at 3717 Lexington Road. In the photos below, pasta chef Larry Birkhead fashions the day’s batch of long pasta. Lotsa Pasta’s fresh pastas and breads are sold at a dozen local grocers and numerous local restaurants. And business is good. This summer, the shop will expand into space next door, offering customers a place to sit down and relax with their Lotsa Pasta fare.